阅读理解 Passage One Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage. Amid all the job losses, there's no category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans. From self-service checkout lines at supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal bodies in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs. Automation isn't just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents. work that previously was performed by highly-paid human lawyers. "Robots continue to have an impact on blue-collar jobs, and white-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors," says economics professor Edward Learner. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. US gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning we're producing as much as before, only with 6% fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers Out there, with outsourcing(外包)stealing far more jobs than automation. Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save US jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer workers, but that's still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas. It's not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. It's that they're better. "In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn't." Burnstein says. Same goes for surgeons, who're using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations- not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet. Surgeons may survive the robot invasion, but others at the hospital might not be so lucky. as iRobot, maker of the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, has been showing off Ava, which could be used as a messenger in a hospital. And once you're home, recovering, Ava could let you talk to your doctor, so there's no need to send someone to your house. That "mobile telepresence" could be useful at the office. If you're away on a trip, you can still attend a meeting. Just connect via videoconferencing software, so your face appears on Ava's screen. Is any job safe? I was hoping to say" journalist," but researchers are already developing software that can gather facts and write a news story. Which means that a few years from now, a robot could be writing this column. And who will read it? Well, there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands.
单选题 What do we learn from the first few paragraphs?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】【定位】由题干中的the first few paragraphs和选项中的professional work, economic recession定位到前四段。 【精析】推理判断题。文章第一段提到经济衰退时期机器人受益于经济混乱;第二至四段提到机器人不仅影响了蓝领的工作,也影响了白领的工作,把人类从其岗位上一脚踢开。由此可推断机器人产业受益于经济衰退,故答案为D)。
单选题 What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】【定位】由题干中的caused, loss of jobs和America 定位到第四段第二句The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs.和第四句To be sure,robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing stealing far more jobs than automation. 【精析】细节推断题。文章第四段第二句提到,美国经济衰退永久性地削减了250万个工作岗位;第四句提到机器人并非唯一的工作杀手,业务外包比自动化分流了更多的岗位。由此可见,虽然机器人取代了部分人类的工作,但是导致美国人工作岗位减少的最主要原因是把生产转移到了其他国家,故答案为B)。
单选题 What does Jeff Burnstein say about robots?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】【定位】由题干中的Jeff Burnstein定位到第五段Jeff Burnstein... argues that robots actually save US jobs. His logic:companies… but that's still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas. 【精析】推理判断题。文章第五段第一句指出,Jeff Burnstein认为机器人实际上挽救了美国的工作岗位,第二句指出虽然自动化会需要更少的工人,但是胜过解雇所有工人并将工作转移到海外。此段是对第四段中“机器人并非唯一的工作杀手,业务外包比自动化分流了更多的岗位”的进一步论述。换言之,机器人产业的存在使得美国没有将所有的工作外包至海外,在某种程度上避免了美国本土的工作岗位流失,故答案为C)。
单选题 Why are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more operations according to Dr. Myriam Curet?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】【定位】由题干中的surgeons和Dr.Myriam Curet 定位到第七段Same goes for surgeons,who're using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations... but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots. . . says Dr. Myriam Curet. 【精析】细节辨认题。定位段提到,Myriam Curet医生说,外科医生采用机器人进行的手术种类正在不断增加,不是因为机器人更省钱,而是因为机器人操作的精确度更高。由此可见,机器人取代外科医生主要是因为它们在准确性方面比人类做得更好,故答案为B)。
单选题 What does the author imply about robotics?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】【定位】由题干中的imply about robotics和选项中的 literary creation, research定位到最后两段。 【精析】推理判断题。文章倒数第二段中通过机器人 Ava的例子说明机器人的作用很多,可以应用于多个方面;最后一段中作者设想或许新闻行业可以避免使用机器人,但是研究人员已经在开发能够收集事实并会写新闻稿的软件。由此可见,作者暗示机器人可以被应用到所有能够想象到的领域,故答案为D)。